We’ve been conditioned to believe that business success is measured in financial milestones: hitting your first £10k month, making six figures, doubling your turnover.

And of course, financial success matters. It allows your business to exist, grow and thrive.

But it’s also possible to have all of those numbers and still feel unsure if what you’re doing is really working.

Because turnover tells you what came in. Impact tells you what difference you made.

It is difficult to see your own work clearly when you are immersed in it, particularly when you work for yourself, by yourself. The long hours, constant problem solving and gradual evolution of ideas make progress feel incremental. You know what you hope to stand for (in my case: integrity, ethics and genuine impact) but it can be hard to know whether that is how others perceive you and the work you do.

That is why receiving the Best Business in Business Services award at the 2025 Best Businesswomen Awards this month was such a significant moment. The judges described my work as demonstrating:

“…exceptional business acumen, ethical leadership and a deep commitment to client service and community… supported by a values-led approach and high-quality evidence.”

These words meant a great deal to me, because they captured precisely what I hope people experience when they work with me. Yet, when you are inside the day-to-day of running a business, you see the unfinished tasks, the lessons still being learned, the realities behind the scenes – and not necessarily the integrity or leadership that others perceive.

It reminded me how powerful it can be when someone else reflects your work back through a different lens.

We ALL have an impact through the work we do.

Every single business, regardless of its size, focus, sector or client base has an impact. We have an effect and an influence on the people and organisations we work with and for.

And that effect and that influence MATTERS.

Impact can be positive: we can improve a situation, we can solve a problem, we can make things better for other people.

Knowing this - REALLY being sure of it and being able to prove, evidence and demonstrate it - is such a powerful gift (more on this later…!)

But our impact can also be negative: we can make something worse.

So, it makes sense to know which scenario is happening because - after all - our businesses survive (or don’t) on the basis of our reputation.

Impact is more than counting numbers. It is about measuring the difference you make. The impression you leave. And the value you create.

It feels relatively straight forward to tally up things like the number of clients you’ve supported in a year, the volume of seminars you’ve delivered, or how many new brands you’ve created.

But to be able to know the difference that your work had… that feels harder, doesn’t it?

Here, Rachel Dunford shows you why knowing the impact of your business is vital to your sustainability and success, and gives you 5 tips on how to get started.

If you ever wondered what I do for a living, here are 6 things I want you to know about the work I do for my clients…